Beneath A Falling Sky
by Skaites
Summary: The year that changed their whole lives forever. What started as a summer of fun ended with the destruction of their world. Aerith 12 Yuffie 8 Leon 15 Cloud 12
1. WakeyWakey

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, Sora would be Riku's and Cloud would be Leon's and Tifa would be dead C:

BTW _italics _are thoughts

3

Aerith was dead to the world when a certain ninja-in-training snuck in. As quietly as the girl could manage, Yuffie tip-toed over to the bed of her best friend. Poke. Yuffie had to make sure the older girl was asleep. She was. Yuffie stepped backwards until she was a good distance from the lumpy bed, before screaming a battle cry and jumping on the brunette.

"YUFFIE KISARAGI!" Aerith yelled, looking into the deep brown eyes of her attacker. "Yep, thats my name!" the younger smiled innocently. Aerith groaned. "Okay Yuffs whats up this morning? Finally kiss Squall or something?" "NO!" the black haired girl shook her head, but she was blushing at the same time. She really didn't like it when the 12 year old teased her about her crush on the older boy.

"So what is the reason that you woke me up at 6 o'clock on a weekend?" "My dad told me that your dad said that Lord Ansem said that a boy fell out of the sky yesterday and that he's currently at the palace and he's around our age and he's lonely and he's not talking and it would do him good if we played with him today." Aerith's brows knitted together as she processed the information the 8 year-old had fired at her. "You mean from another world?!" the girl exclaimed. Yuffie nodded. "Can we play with him? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?" Aerith sighed. Taking the older girl's getting out of bed as a yes, she skipped out of the room. "I'll go get Squall-y!"

3

Yuffie quickly dodged the potted plants inside and around Aerith's house and made it next door. Noticing that she hadn't knocked any over, she cheered. That was a record. _Maybe that means my skills are finally starting to fine-tune themselves_ she thought.

Facing the door, she knocked. A man with long, dark hair and a pale complexion opened the door. "Good morning Miss Yuffie. Squall's awake if that's what you want to know" "Thanks Laguna. Upstairs, I'm guessing?" Laguna nodded. Bouncing past him, she saw a figure emerging from the kitchen. "Hi Raine!" The girl waved to Squall's mother, who waved in return. She knew that both would be heading to work soon, Laguna being the head of the castle guard and Raine the head of the Castle staff. This left poor Squall in the care of one certain 8-year-old. In actuality, Squall was supposed to Yuffie's babysitter. Somehow , along with Aerith, the three became fast friends. Yuffie was still amazed at what a good prank could do.

Smiling evilly, the ninja remembered her latest mission. Creeping to the older boy's door, she waited a couple of seconds. Then she blasted open the door and pounced on the teen's bed, and the boy inside it.

"YUFFIE!" the 15-year-old yelled. Yuffie gave him a wider, scarier grin than the one she had given Aerith.

"Good morning Squally-poo"

"Yuffie..."

"Aww my name seems to be you favorite word today, how sweet." Squall groaned. There were only two things that were worse than waking up. His dad and Yuffie. Unfortunately, one of the two was waking him up.

"Get off of me. NOW!" He ordered the girl. She didn't budge.

"What was that now?" Squall growled.

"Bad dog!" Yuffie reprimanded him. _Damn! Whatever happened to sleeping in on Saturdays?_

"Yuffie will you please get off of me?" No movement.

The boy groaned rather loudly before saying, "Yuffie, I'll love you forever and ever if you just get off." The girl smirked and got up, "Good Squall." The teen mumbled something incoherent in reply.

"What was that?" Yuffie asked, raising a brow. Squall froze. He knew that Yuffie would give him all hell if she heard what he said.

"Uhh, I love you forever and always?" The girl's eyebrows shot together, but she said nothing. Squall knew that he should shut up. There was no knowing what that girl would do if she actually heard some of the more colorful curses he used on her.

"Going to mooch off your mom. You have five minutes to get ready; and you took a shower last night so you don't have to take one today." The girl flitted out of the room leaving Squall to curse her with every word he wasn't supposed to know in his head this time.

Thats all for now folks! Review and you might meet a certain sexy blonde kid next chappie.


	2. The Boy from the Unknown

Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing! Dang it!

Sora: If she owned Kingdom Hearts, I'd probably be with a guy and not Kairi.

Me: -evil smile- exactly

Sora: -Sweatdrops-

Me: Now, onto the fic!

"Are you awake kid?" Sky blue eyes opened to meet brown ones.

"AH!" The head of blonde, gravity-defiant hair disappeared beneath the covers. A chuckle was heard echoing throughout the room.

_ 'Wait a second, my room isn't even close to being big enough for an echo,' _the boy thought. Pealing back the covers, he saw a man in a white lab coat with an unruly mop of light brown hair that matched the color of his eyes.

"So, you're finally awake. Sorry if I scared you." Cloud looked at the stranger strangely. Who was he and where was he anyway?

"Anyways, I'm Professor Gast," the brown haired man continued.

"Cloud," the blonde introduced himself. This man was a doctor, that was for sure, but he certainly wasn't in a hospital.

"Are you feeling alright," Gast asked.

"I feel fine," The blonde replied, sitting up. Why was this man asking questions like this? Cloud was certainly not sick.

"Do you remember at all what happened to you?"

"What do you mean? I don't remember anything besides walking home from a friend's house and waking up here," Cloud was kind of scared now.

"Well, all I can tell you is that you appeared out of nowhere through what seemed to be a portal of some sort. It appeared about ten feet in the air, so you took a rather nasty fall. You did fall on your head which is probably the reason why you can't remember anything. You seemed to be unconscious before you hit the ground Putting that aside, you seem to be just fine" It took the youth about a minute to process the information.

"So, now what?" He asked.

"Well we can't exactly let you roam the streets, not that there is much crime here in Radiant Garden, so it was arranged that you stay with the captain of the castle guard and his family."

"Radiant Garden?" Cloud asked bewildered, "What happened to Nibelheim?"

Gast's eyes darkened, "I really don't know." Cloud was stunned. The blank in his memory was foreboding, like he was supposed to remember something important, but he wasn't. What had happened?

"Well, I know of a few people who might be dropping in soon to see you soon-"

"See me?!" Cloud exclaimed. Gast laughed.

"Yes, you. As I was saying, I'd like to get some things done before that. Knowing those three, I won't be able to get anything done once they get here. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to make sure that you are truly as well as you seem." Cloud nodded was about to get up when something large hit him in the chest at light speed.

Aerith had quickly pulled on her pink dress and boots, muttering to herself as she did so. With practiced ease, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen where her mom was working around the plants.

"Good morning, Aerith. Yuffie wake you up well?" Her mom said all of this without even looking up. Aerith kissed her mom on the cheek.

"I'm going with Yuffie and Squall to the castle today, 'k?"

"Yes, Aerith, I already know. Make sure to be back by 5, and bring your father with you." Aerith was already out the door on her way next door, where Yuffie, her mouth full with a piece of her mooched bounty of toast, and Squall were making their way outside.

"Morning, Squall!" The girl greeted the not-so-happy teen. He grunted in reply. Aerith smiled; typical Squall.

"So you guys ready to go?" Yuffie asked, finishing off her toast.

"Yes Yuffie," the older two chorused, one more cheerfully than the other by a long shot.

"To the castle!"

Cloud was forced back onto the bed on his back. The impact had momentarily rendered him paralyzed. When he regained control of his body, he was looking into the big liquid eyes of a young girl. He reacted accordingly; he yelled and pushed her off.

"Who are you?" he asked. The girl, who had landed on the floor on her backside and was looking up at him, smiled while flashing him the peace sign

"The Great Ninja Yuffie to you, Spikey!" Cloud scowled at the nickname.

"Yuffie, what did I tell you about glomping my patients?" Gast asked the hyperactive girl. She giggled.

"Sorry Aerith's dad."

"Where are the other's?" Gast asked.

"Right here, Daddy!" The attention of all those in the room turned to the doorway. Cloud saw two brunettes in the doorway; one a tall boy with a sub-zero chill rolling off of him, and the other a girl with an aura of pure light. The girl, who was the one who had spoken, ran up to the the doctor and hugged him.

"Hey, Professor," the older boy greeted Gast, who waved with his free hand. A sudden yelp was heard on the other side of the room. They all turned to see Yuffie on top of Cloud, tugging at his hair spikes.

"Come on, these can't be natural. So what is it, gel or hairspray?" the young girl asked.

"I told you, my hair is just like that!" Cloud said indignantly. The ninja was unrelenting.

"Seriously, what do use?"

"Nothing!" The Gast, the boy, and the other girl burst into laugher, finding the situation rather funny. Cloud looked up at the sudden outburst, smiling and sitting up, causing the ninja to tumble off.

"Hey, watch it!" She sputtered, landing on her face. Cloud helped her up. Once she was finally on both feet, he extended a hand.

"I'm Coud." Yuffie took his hand and shook it.

"Yuffie." She then turned to the others, "That's Squall," she pointed to the boy, who waved, "don't mind him, he's just stuck up. That's Aerith," she said, pointing to the other girl waved as well, "she's the nicest person around, but she can't cook worth crap; she even burns water." Coud noticed Aerith blush. What Yuffie said was obviously true.

"Now, Yuffie, be nice," Gast scolded. Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Professor." the girl sighed.

"She was just telling the truth," Squall said seriously. Aerith kicked him in the shin and the others all laughed, leading Cloud to the conclusion that this was the older boy's way of being sarcastic. That's when Aerith walked over to him.

"Okay, well since these guys aren't being very helpful, I guess that I'll have to show you around my self," she said to him. To her father, she asked, "Is it okay with you?"

Gast smiled, and sighed, "It's not like Yuffie will let me get any work done now, so sure."

Gast's comment directed their attention to the young ninja, who was playing around with Gast's equipment. With Aerith dragging Cloud and Squall carrying Yuffie, the four of them waved bye to the palace doctor and made their way out.

Soon after they left room, Yuffie commandeered the tour. The first stop was the kitchens. Yuffie managed to mooch (or steal, you never know) some cookies, which she reluctantly shared with the others. Then they roamed the hallways, the others pointing out the different rooms, what they were used for, and if you were allowed to play in them or not.

Right after that, she dragged them to the palace gardens where they spent most of the day just playing. Cloud mostly hung around Aerith; Yuffie and Squall getting into too much trouble all the time for him to even talk to them. Actually, Yuffie was getting into trouble and Squall was getting her out of it. He and Aerith talked about various subjects from where she lived to if whether or not Yuffie o'd on sugar or if she was naturally hyperactive. It was more like he was questions and she was answering them most of the time. Every so often, she'd take out a notebook and sketch a plant or a tree. When Cloud tried to look at it, she'd always hide it and blush for some reason. Maybe she thought he'd make fun of her or something. Cloud shrugged it off and dropped it.

When Yuffie shouted something about a demon squirrel they decided to leave. That's when Squall thought of something. He pulled the other two aside and whispered to them, and they seemed to agree. Cloud got suspicious, but didn't say a word. Squall was the one who addressed him.

"We decided that we're going to take you to our secret place where we go all the time, but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone, okay?" Cloud nodded. It wasn't like he had anyone to tell anyway.

"Okay follow us"

Where is Squall taking Cloud? Next chapter explains it. Sorry if this chapter took forever in coming. Sorry if I got some things wrong. Let me know if I did so I can correct them. R&R please!


	3. Exploring Radiant Garden

Comments: I would like to thank Midnight's Butterfly for the things you pointed out in the second chapter. I had no idea that they were there. The first one you pointed out though was supposed to be there. To Palomino333's comment on the first chapter, Wow you must have actually read the summary. Just being sarcastic cause I had already told a lot of what is going to happen. I still love you buddy! To MinktheWolf, "..." If anything like that is to happen with Cloud and Leon/Squall I assure you it will be in another fic. But they will probably at one point hangout there sometime. I really dunno yet. A big thank you goes out to my other reviewers from both chapters; PrincessSerenity 110, Pearl Warrior, and Beeria. It is really nice to know that people read my story and enjoy it. It makes me feel deep down in my itty bitty, twisted fangirish heart that people actually like it as much as I do. Well, without further ado, I present the third chapter of is shot Okay, Okay I get the point! Goes of to fight the stupid t-rexar in ff8 that is not allowing me to escape

Disclaimer: If I owned practically everything mentioned in this fic, I'd be rich as all get out.

Cloud followed the others down a long corridor, wondering the whole time what exactly Squall had meant by a 'secret place'. It was obviously a secret hangout, but why was it secret. And why did these three hang out with each other when their ages were completely different. He was thinking so hard that he didn't see Squall stop and ran smack into him.

Said teenager whirled around. "Holy... you okay?" Squall asked. Cloud nodded. The impact from running into older boy had knocked him on his butt and that was it. Squall helped him up and the chilliness of before set back in.

"Well, we're here," Squall said gruffly. Cloud was beginning to wonder if Squall was bi-polar or had male pms. Looking at him, Cloud figured both.

"Now remember, you made a promise that you wouldn't tell anyone where we hung out. If you do we'll..."

"Yuffie, please don't elaborate. Besides practically everyone already knows we hang out here, so it's not a big deal," Aerith interrupted the ninja before the other girl could finish. Cloud flashed a smile to the pink clad-girl, who turned away. Was she blushing?!

"Hey, stop flirting with my best friend, buddy!" Yuffie said, poking Cloud on the chest. The other's laughed, but Cloud blushed an inhuman shade of red.

"Well, we've been wasting enough time. Come on," Squall pushed open the door. Cloud gasped. They were inside a giant library! There were as many books as there where stars on the sky. Squall smirked, though it was more of a smile.

"Haven't you ever been in a library before?" He asked.

"Not as big as this. The school library was only a couple of shelves compared to this," Cloud breathed, full of awe.

"You're acting as if these dusty old things are actually important," Yuffie said, kicking a shelf. A small book from the top and landed on the ninja's head.

"Ow!" the girl exclaimed. The others all laughed.

"Okay so here are the rules for playing here; don't thought the books around, don't mix them up, and don't get too loud," Squall recited.

"Just the basics of being in a library, only we can run in this one," Yuffie said cheerily.

"Tag!" Aerith said tapping the ninja on the shoulder and running among the books.

"Hey! No fair!" the ninja whined. Squall and Cloud looked at each other and ran.

The game continued, Cloud being tagged one out of every two times. They stopped when everyone was on the verge of passing out from oxygen loss.

"So, having fun yet?" Yuffie asked Cloud.

"More than ever in my life, thank you," Cloud replied.

"You know, we didn't even do anything special today, besides asking you to hang out with us," Squall informed him.

"You serious?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, why?" Aerith asked.

"No one has ever really played with me that much before. Unless they we're playing dodge ball and needed a target." Cloud said sadly.

"Why would anyone do that to you? You're almost cooler than me!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"I dunno," Cloud replied.

"Well we won't let that happen, will we Squall?" Yuffie asked cheerily.

"Hey, what about me?" Aerith joked.

"Uh..." Yuffie paused. Cloud, Squall, and Aerith only laughed.

"Hello?" a voice cut it's way through the air in the library. Cloud watched the reactions of the others with interest. Squall seemed to perk up, while Yuffie's cheery _demeanor_ seemed to darken and Aerith shifted in her seat.

"Squall?" Cloud heard the distinctive feminine tone to the voice. Who was this girl that Squall liked and the other's didn't? His question was answered when a girl Squall's age turned the corner. The girl had dark shoulder length hair and dark chocolate eyes. Her outfit consisted of arm warmers, a blue shrug that fell to her mid thigh, a black tank top and shorts with a blue skort.

"Hey Rinoa!" Squall greeted her happily, getting up quickly. Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Hi Squall!" She smiled. Then she waved at the other girls, who politely but unenthusiastically waved back.

"Who's the new guy?" She asked.

"That's Cloud," Squall informed her.

"Hello Cloud, I'm Rinoa; Squall's girlfriend" Cloud noticed that Aerith and Yuffie stiffened at that. He wondered why. Rinoa seemed nice enough.

"Hey, weren't you guys supposed to be home by 5 for dinner?" Rinoa asked.

"Yeah? Why?" Aerith asked.

"It's 5:30." Yuffie, Squall, and Aerith blanched simultaneously.

"We gotta go!" Squall announced. Then he took off, the girl's and Cloud at his heals.

Rinoa and Squall were at the head while Yuffie, Cloud, and Aerith lagged a bit behind.

"So, what's wrong with Rinoa?" Cloud asked between breaths.

"What do you mean?" Aerith gasped.

"You two obviously don't like her," Cloud asked.

"She's the devil! If she had it her way, Squally would be robot boyfriend of the year! She hates us and tries to get him to stop hanging out with us! I don't trust her at all!" Yuffie spat.

"Oh," was Cloud's only reply.

"Yuffie, she's not that bad," Aerith scolded her.

"That's why you stiffen up every time she so much as speaks," Cloud informed her truthfully. Aerith hung her head shamefully.

"You guys! We're gonna be even later than we already are!" Squall yelled back at them. The paced increased and there was no more room for conversation.

Well, what do you think? Review as always!


	4. Dinner Time!

Disclaimer: Like always, I own not a thing. Stupid lawyers.

Comments: Well because I can keep my hands away from the keys, which is illegal for me to do in some countries, here is chapter 4 straight from the insane asylum; fangirl rehab unit! Just kidding. Sorry for the lack of updates. Hopefully this will feed your hunger for fanfiction. Just some notes; the characters might be OOC because they are still kids in this. Just in case you hadn't realized this. Squall is not an emo jerk because the events of FFVIII are nonexistent__in this fic. Also, Rinoa, Yuffie, and Aerith's situation will be get better in this and the next chapter.

The group reached the house panting heavily, some more than others.

"Hol-y crap... how can... you guys... run so fast?" Yuffie managed to ask.

"We... have longer legs," Aerith replied, rubbing one side. Cloud, who saw her, said,

"Raise your arm. It'll make the cramps go away." The girl nodded and did what was suggested.

"Well since we're all still alive, does anyone have the time?" Squall asked. Rinoa looked at her watch.

"It's 5:39."

"New record!" Yuffie said, jumping up in the air.

"What happened to you being out of breath for once?" Squall asked.

"All better!" she giggled, flashing him the peace sign. Thats when two people emerged from the house.

"Mom, Dad, sorry we weren't on time. We sort of didn't have a watch," Aerith apologized.

"It's not like a watch would have helped. You all are always late," Ifalna commented, smiling.

"You're forgiven, as always. You all are lucky that dinner was later than expected. Now get inside and wash up." Gast smiled as he said this. The others bolted inside, Gast following them in to make sure they didn't destroy anything, but Aerith stayed behind to coax Cloud, the ever shy, to go inside. Ifalna stopped them on their way in.

"So this is the poor boy that was kidnapped by my daughter and her friends today," she said cheerily.

"You're pretty cute, kid. Whats your name? My husband never mentioned it," Ifalna continued. Poor Cloud was reduced to blushing.

"Mo-om!" Aerith sighed. "Do you always have to flirt with every boy that crosses the threshold of our house?"

"You never complained before. Does this mean that you like him a little more than the others?" Ifalna asked, a teasing smile on her lips.

"Mother!" Aerith exclaimed, her blush giving herself away. The girl had already developed a small crush on the blonde boy. Thankfully for her, Cloud had not seen the blush. He was too busy fighting and hiding his own.

"His name is Cloud Strife, Mom," Aerith answered, recovering quicker than the boy next to her.

"Well, Cloud," Ifalna started, saying his name as though she was tasting something new, "I'll just explain a few things to you. Tonight you are to go home with Squall. His parents are Laguna and Raine Loire and he has an older sister named Ellone. Each day, we parents trade off cooking dinner for you guys. Tomorrow is Squall's parent's turn. Aerith will explain the rest. Now I have to make sure everything inside is okay." Ifalna went inside when she finished. Aerith turned to Cloud.

"I'm sorry. She does that with all my friends when they first come over. She likes you, you know. I haven't decided whats worse yet; if she likes someone or not." Cloud paled. Aerith giggled.

"Come on. My mom is the best cook around and I'm hungry," Aerith announced, dragging Cloud inside.

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Dinner was a whirlwind of activity. The kitchen table was set up buffet style with all the food set up around it. When the teens served themselves, they went to the dining room table, where they attacked the food.

"Getting fat, Yuffie?" Squall teased the girl who was eating more than even him.

"Not at all. I just don't sit on my butt all day like you do, old man," Yuffie retorted through a mouth full of potatoes.

"Yuffie, don't talk with your mouth full," Ifalna, Gast, and Aerith scolded simultaneously. Cloud and Squall burst out laughing, the others soon joining. When the room calmed somewhat, different conversations formed among those at the table. Aerith decided to explain to Cloud about how things went around Radiant Garden, Yuffie bickered with Squall while Rinoa acted as peacemaker, and Ifalna and Gast talked about miscellaneous rumors going around town.

"You're lucky, Cloud. Today was the first day of summer vacation, so you don't have to go school for three whole months." Yuffie commented out of the blue, interrupting his conversation with Aerith about chocobos back on his world.

"She's right. You are lucky." Aerith agreed. Cloud nodded, looking quite a bit paler than usual at the very mention of the dreaded place. No one noticed the look on his face as the conversations returned to normal.

Dinner was soon over, and more than one person was holding their overstuffed stomach. Yuffie, more chipper than ever, decided it was time to tease Aerith when the boys were in the kitchen, helping to clean up.

"So Aerith, did ya kiss Cloud yet?" she asked. Aerith's reaction was instant.

"YUFFIE!" She exclaimed, blushing a dark scarlet. Rinoa decided to take Yuffie's side.

"He is cute, Aerith. I bet he likes you, too, from the way he was blushing earlier on the porch"

"He was?" Aerith asked, grabbing the older girls arm and clutching it tightly.

"Yep. Redder than a tomato," Rinoa informed her.

"And redder than you," Yuffie added. Aerith flushed a deeper red.

"You two spied, didn't you?" she accused, finally getting it. The other girls laughed.

"You guys ready to go?" Squall asked walking into the room. The conversation ended immediately.

"Yeah," Yuffie and Rinoa said.

"Come on, we have to get home," Squall said. Just as the group was about to leave, Ifalna called out,

"Yuffie, dear, I forgot to tell you. Your parents are going out of town tonight, so you're going to spend the week here."

"Kay!" the girl answered. The others soon left, leaving Yuffie and Aerith in the living room.

"You know, I forgot we hated Rinoa until just now," Yuffie announced, flopping on the couch.

"Yeah. It's kind of funny, isn't it," Aerith agreed.

Sorry if it wasn't long enough.

To save myself some work, the Radiant Garden School District works like mine and has the same schedule

Oh and the way Ifalna had dinner set up is similar to the way my mom sets stuff up when we have a ton of people over.

Next chapter you guys get to learn what the guys wear to bed.

Cloud and Squall: WHAT?!

Oh, shut it you two. Until next time!


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